The experience of Mexico meets the youthful talent of Germany for a spot in the Confederations Cup finals. Mexico reached the final once as hosts in 1999, while Germany have never finished the tournament better than third. Follow along for live info:
Final Score
Mexico – 0 – 1 1
Germany – 2 – 2 4
GOAL: Younes (90′)
GOAL: Fabian (89′)
GOAL: Werner (59′)
36′
Mexico’s best chance of the first half but Little Pea puts it over the bar.
GOAL: Goretzka (8′)
GOAL: Goretzka (5′)
Preview
Germany brought the youngest team out of the eight nations competing in Russia, but that didn’t hold them back. Joachim Low guided the squad to an unbeaten record in the group stage, continuing a 13-game unbeaten run for Germany’s senior squad. There were a few hiccups, like conceding twice to Australia, but Germany have a selfless team with young athletes all over the field. Julian Draxler and Joshua Kimmich are the midfield stars, both under 25 and both playing for elite european clubs.
Mexico had a bumpier group stage, but still advanced behind Portugal as runner-up in Group A. Mexico trailed at some point in each of their three group matches, but still managed to finish the round with seven points. El Tri will be without Andres Guaradado for the semifinal, who is serving a one-match ban after picking up two yellow cards.
Mexico will be without Guardado, but they still have lots of attacking experience. Gio dos Santos and Chicharito are both closing in on 100 caps, and both will be expected to play at a high level Thursday. Chicharito, who plays his club football in Germany, said in training that he feels his team can cause problems for Germany.
“We’re going to focus on our way, on our system. It doesn’t 100 percent matter what they do,” he told reporters. “We want to do our best to try to stop them, make a lot of danger and win the match.”
The winner of Thursday’s semifinal will advance to Saint Petersburg, where they will meet Chile in the final. It would be a chance at revenge for Mexico, who were beaten by Chile 7-1 at Copa America last summer. The loser will go to Moscow for a third-place match against Portugal.
Follow this page for live updates throughout the match, including video of every goal.
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